Fare coverage

Newspaper caters to local taxi drivers

November 02, 2003|By James M. Flammang, Special to the Tribune.

Sitting behind the wheel of a cab for long stretches at the O'Hare International Airport staging area gave George Lutfallah time to think. He'd driven a cab before, while in college. After receiving an MBA and doing a stint at an accounting/consulting firm, he wanted to strike out on his own.

While struggling to get a company off the ground, he needed to make a living. So, he returned to taxi driving.

"It was Friday night" at O'Hare, Lutfallah recalls, and he was thinking, "What am I doing here?" Soon, his thoughts began to focus on his cabbie colleagues. "There were a lot of issues that drivers were talking about," Lutfallah said. "There were a lot of rumors going around.

"At the same time, I saw that people were handing out fliers," urging drivers to visit a certain restaurant or have their oil changed at a specific garage. With so many potential advertisers, the idea for a drivers publication began to germinate.

And there was the possible circulation with about 6,750 cabs and 17,000 active drivers in Chicago, plus thousands more in the suburbs.

In his research, Lutfallah discovered an article about the Chicago Taxi Times, a similar publication founded a decade earlier. "I didn't know if it was still around," he recalls. "I didn't want to step on anyone's toes."

He found Kenneth Cooper, editor of the Chicago Taxi Times from 1992 until the paper folded in mid-decade. Back issues and Cooper helped Lutfallah envision his venture.

The first issue of Lutfallah's paper, the Chicago Dispatcher, was published in February 2002. It's free to cabdrivers and $1 to others. Some 15 people contribute to each month's issue, working independently.

About 10,000 copies of each issue go to 80 or 90 distribution points, including every cab company. Distribution reaches as far west as Elgin.

"I'll find that a lot of drivers want to tell me some things," Lutfallah said. "It gives me a chance to stay in touch with them."

"It's good," said Aurimas Palaitis as he sat in a taxi line at O'Hare. Besides doing a good job of providing practical information on conventions and business spots, the Chicago Dispatcher delivers details on "crime scenes" that affect taxi drivers.

"There are a lot of problems that we have," Palaitis said, which need to be publicized beyond the driver group. Because the Dispatcher is distributed mainly to cab drivers, though, the general public does not usually learn about them. In addition to coverage in the Dispatcher, Palaitis said, "some articles should be in other papers, including the Chicago Tribune."

Rafi E. Mohammed says the Dispatcher is "nice for the cab drivers."

Vladimir Golomb, a 12-year veteran behind the wheel, agrees. "I like the articles, the interviews," Golomb said, as well as the "taxi news." He appreciates the Dispatcher's focus on drivers, showing "what happens to them, and the experiences they have."

Issue No. 1 contained 12 pages, but lately the size has grown to 24 or 28 pages. "We want to be sure to get it in the drivers' hands before the 1st" of each month, Lutfallah said, so they can benefit from the calendar. Lutfallah believes that "within the next couple of months," it will further increase in size. He also foresees increasing the publishing frequency, to twice a month if not weekly.

In soliciting advertising, Lutfallah started with the Chicago Taxi Times. O'Brien's Restaurant on Wells Street committed to advertising since the first issue. "We don't have much attrition in terms of our advertisers," Lutfallah said. "They tend to stick with us."

Columns such as Dear Cabbie and Cabbie of the Month were modeled on the old paper. Some cabbies contribute to the paper. Submissions also come from people who don't necessarily drive but "have a fondness for cabdrivers," Lutfallah said. He cites the example of a man who wrote to inform drivers he felt their talking on cell phones was "highly unprofessional."

Quite a few contributors are anonymous or use pen names, often because they fear retribution.

Like his 1990s predecessors at the Chicago Taxi Times, Lutfallah likes to take on serious issues that affect drivers--and their passengers. Illegitimate cabs rank high on that list.

Late in 2002, Lutfallah investigated illegitimate cabs at O'Hare. "We actually followed this particular driver," he recalls. A traveler had arrived from Nigeria. "He walked out, saw this guy there, not a licensed Chicago cabbie. He got in this cab, and we followed. [The cabbie] was parked out in the terminals for about 15 minutes, so we knew there was something going on. He obviously didn't get a call."

Lutfallah talked to the passenger afterward. He'd wanted to go to the Blue Line train (which has a station in an O'Hare terminal), with a final destination of Chicago Heights. "This guy charged him [nearly] $70 and dropped him off ... nowhere near his [destination]. That stuff just goes on all the time."